MAP: One-Fourth Of The Planet Is Breathing Unsafe Air

In today's installment of Map Monday, I wanted to focus on air pollution as mapped by Hsu et al and The Atlantic. Go to this link to see the full interactive map, which details air pollution by country and city. Below, I have copied in a global snapshot with some perhaps unsurprising shades of pollution severity, including China and India in dark hues.

Courtesy of Hsu et al/The AtlanticOne-fourth of the world is breathing unsafe air.

The short answer is: it's hard to measure without proper monitoring. This is a global problem with wide-ranging local effects. However, there has been some good progress in analyzing these issues recently. Here are some of the headline findings:

These items together paint a grim picture, but they also highlight the substantial work now going into data collection and analysis: important steps towards combating air pollution.

However, I'd be interested in hearing what you find surprising from the map above? Check out the time series function, and toggle between cities and countries and you might come up with some unanticipated results. For example, have a look at Norway versus Oslo in 2012, and you'll see what I'm getting at.